The Best of Intentions
by Starr Williams
Summary: Following the events of Flashback, Brooklyn's protective instincts goes into overdrive and he finds himself with a tough decision to make. When he chooses his path, he has to face the fallout of his choice, and what it means for all of those nearest him. (This one goes out to J, who kept asking for more Brooklyn and Skyler. This one is all your fault!) :)
1. Chapter 1

The Best of Intentions

"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" ~ An Old English Proverb

Brooklyn sat on top of one of the raised stone blocks decorating the edge of the castle's highest tower. This was normally Goliath's perch, as his position as leader, but it was also the farthest place away from everyone else. He loved being part of the clan, his family, but this was not something he necessarily wanted to share with everyone right now.

He had wanted just a little time to himself. To think, plan, and try to come up with the right words.

It was one of those rare nights, when Skyler had the night off. He had sent her a message yesterday evening, asking her to join him here. Now, he just had to wait for her.

A few minutes later, he heard the door behind him, and he knew that all his preparation time was over.

"Oh my God," Skyler gasped, as she joined him. "I've never been up here before. The view is amazing!" She crossed her arms at one of the low spots in the wall, and leaned out to take it in. The city skyline of Manhattan stretched out before her, with only a few low hanging clouds to break up the view. Beneath them, the city was lit up and alive.

"It's no wonder that Elisa likes it up here so much," Skyler breathed, her face alight in wonder.

"Yeah," Brooklyn said taking in the sight himself. "I guess when you see it, night after night, you don't notice it as much." He did now, though, taking in the view with fresh eyes, and marveling again at the difference between now and his original time. Taking a deep breath, he straightened to his full height. "Skyler, I wanted to talk to you about…"

Skyler raised her eyes to meet his, and for a moment he lost the ability to speak. Abruptly, he looked away.

"Brooklyn?" Skyler said, nervous now. Why wasn't he looking at her?

Gently, Brooklyn reached down and took her hands in his.

He had to get it out before he lost his nerve…

**-{- -{- -{- -{- -{- **

Elisa and Goliath were out for the evening, spending some time in Central Park with Liam.

Liam loved it, and had come to think of Belvedere Castle as "his" castle. They would pack some food, and go picnic on the grounds after they had closed for the night, and Liam would come home with stories of Lords and Ladies, Knights and Kings.

Thank the gods they weren't home right now, she thought.

Numbly, Skyler made her way to her bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed.

Had that really happened?

They had been friends before officially starting to date, and they had been dating for a little over a year now.

After the events that had happened a few weeks ago, when she had helped… or tried to, at least… go through a mountain of old Latin books and pages to help break a spell on Elisa, she had known something had changed. Brooklyn had been reluctant to let her out of his sight, and seemed more over protective than normal, but she chalked it up to a reaction from the fact that there was a human hating Gargoyle on the loose.

Demona, a Gargoyle that she hadn't even seen, had cast a spell on Elisa that had sent her back in time… sort of. The best explanation that anyone had been able to come up with came from Angela after she'd studied the spell a bit. It seems that by changing one word in the original spell, Demona had sent Elisa's consciousness into the past.

Possibly into a past life, where she'd been at the Original Castle Wyvern in early AD Scotland.

Due to some truly insane sounding events, Elisa had convinced a young Demona to cast a spell in that time to undo the spell that Older Demona had cast in the present.

Long story short, they all had Elisa back now, but the one responsible was once again on the loose and had even more of a reason to hate humans interacting with the Gargoyles.

Especially in a romantic sense.

Initially, she'd felt special and cared for, something that had been missing from her life since her mother had vanished and left her to be raised in the foster care system just before she'd turned 13. She hadn't truly felt like part of a family until she'd come to Manhattan and met Elisa and Goliath.

And, through them, the rest of the Gargoyles.

She hadn't known what to expect tonight, when she'd gone to the castle to meet Brooklyn…

But getting dumped certainly hadn't even crossed her mind


	2. Chapter 2

"We're home," Elisa called out. She set Liam down to run as she worked the key out of the special heavy duty lock that she'd had installed on the patio doors.

Finally getting the key free, she grabbed Liam up. "Ok, buddy. It's bath time for you, then into bed."

She carried Liam up the stairs and cleaned up, and into his favorite pajamas. She was just taking him to his room to tuck him in, when she noticed the light from under Skyler's door.

Elisa frowned. Skyler had gone to the castle about the same time that Goliath had taken them to the park.

She hadn't answered Elisa's call when they had gotten home.

Elisa had a high tech security system (a hazard of the job) that sounded a doorbell whenever someone entered or left through either door whether or not the alarm was armed, so Elisa knew Skyler hadn't come in after her.

Maybe she forgot to turn her light off?

Puzzled, Elisa continued to Liam's room, and tucked him in. Kissing his cheeks and tucking him in, Elisa quietly closed his door.

She sent another look to Skyler's door, concerned. It wasn't like her 'safety first' nanny to forget something like that.

She knocked softly, and when she got no response, she opened the door quietly.

"Oh, sorry," Elisa said when she spotted the young woman sitting on the bed. "I didn't mean to…" Elisa stopped abruptly, and took a step inside. "Skyler?"

Skyler blinked as if waking up. "Oh, sorry, Elisa," She said softly. "I guess I didn't hear you come in."

"Are you okay?" Elisa asked, approaching Skyler like she would any other person who seemed so out of it. With caution.

Not that she truly believed Skyler would hurt her, but she suddenly looked so…fragile.

"Yeah," Skyler said, then more firmly, "I'll be fine."

"If you're sure," Elisa said, "But I would be a really crappy friend if I didn't offer. If you need to talk, about anything, I'm here to listen. I have two pints of ice cream in the freezer, and we can work on them while you talk."

Skyler smiled sadly. "I'll be okay," She insisted, then hesitated. "Elisa… if something were to happen, you know, between me and Brooklyn…" She hiccupped on an unexpected sob, "Would that effect my place here?"

Elisa blinked in surprise. If her jaw had actually hit the ground in shock, she would not have been more surprised.

"Of course not," Elisa said firmly. "You have a position… a home… with us for as long as you want it."

Skyler started crying then.

Elisa placed an arm around her shoulders, gently guiding her towards the stairs. "We are going to dig into that ice cream," She said, "And then we'll talk."

**-{- -{- -{- -{- -{- **

Skyler fell into an exhausted sleep a few hours later.

Elisa didn't have the heart to wake her, so she simply covered her up with an extra quilt that she kept in the closet downstairs.

Brooklyn had broken off things between them, and Skyler was still in shock. What little Elisa had managed to get out of Skyler between crying jags hadn't made a whole lot of sense.

But then again, Elisa didn't have a lot of experience with heartbroken females. She, herself, had always been so focused on her career and training to be an officer in the NYPD, and later as a detective, that she hadn't really been concerned with her own love life.

Oh, she'd dated once in a while, but nothing too serious, and nothing that ended badly enough to turn her into a puddle of misery.

Even when her female friends had issues with their men, she tried to be supportive, but couldn't seem to identify with them enough to be very comforting in these situations.

She should have called Beth in. She was better at it than Elisa was.

Elisa sighed and opened the balcony doors to get some fresh air outside.

Closing the door quietly behind her, she made her way to the benches that were placed around the large open area.

What in the world was Brooklyn thinking? Something had to be horribly wrong, at least in his mind, for him to do something like this. She hadn't seen him so happy since… honestly, she hadn't seen him so happy since she'd known him. At least, not the constant contented happy that she'd seen on him over the last year.

She had hoped that her and Goliath's relationship was what had opened Brooklyn up to having one of his own with Skyler, and it had seemed to be working out fine.

Hell, she'd seen them together just the night before, and everything between them had seemed fine!

Elisa sat on the bench, propping her elbows on her knees, her chin on her clasped hands.

So, what had changed?

While she didn't feel it was her place to interfere, she was concerned about both Brooklyn and Skyler equally.

She could take care of Skyler here.

Elisa took her phone from her jeans pocket and called the castle on what they jokingly called the "Gargoyle Hotline".

"Hey Lex," She said, as the familiar cheerful voice answered. "How's things over there tonight?"

"Elisa!" Lexington greeted her. "It's all quiet here. What's going on?"

Elisa hesitated. "Has Goliath made it back there yet?"

"I don't know," Lexington said slowly. "I don't think so. I haven't seen him yet."

"Its fine," Elisa hurried to assure him. "Can you have him give me a call when you do? It's not an emergency, I promise."

"Will do," Lexington promised.

The two of them said their goodbyes and hung up the phone.

It was still early yet, hours before sunrise. Goliath had mentioned that he was going to join with the others running patrols and then stop by the castle after.

Hopefully he would get her message before leaving the castle. She had the feeling that Brooklyn may need someone to talk to.


	3. Chapter 3

Brooklyn hadn't joined in the patrols, so none of the others was aware that anything was wrong right away.

The rest of the clan had bene aware that he'd been meeting with Skyler, so had thought it best to leave the couple alone for the night. Except for Lexington, who had been manning the communications for the night in case of an emergency, everyone had chosen to go on their assigned patrol routes.

It wasn't until Goliath arrived, and meeting with the rest of the clan that anyone even realized that Brooklyn wasn't there.

Once they had touched down in the courtyard, Goliath had gotten updates from everyone on how their patrols went.

Lexington joined toward the end, and once the reports had been given, he passed along Elisa's message.

Goliath frowned. Even though Lexington had said it wasn't an emergency, Goliath chose to return her call right away.

The Xanatos' had provided a dedicated line for the clan to use if the need arose, even providing a special keypad for dialing. Oversized, solid metal keys allowed for their taloned fingers, and a separate keypad of the same design held pre-programmed buttons for the numbers that they would need to reach. Those numbers included Elisa, Matt, Doctor James' personal phone, and even Captain Chavez in case of an extreme emergency.

Goliath pressed the button for Elisa.

The phone rang once before she answered, letting him know that she'd been near the telephone waiting for him to call.

"Hey Big Guy," Elisa said softly.

"Elisa," Goliath responded. "What is wrong?"

Elisa audibly took a breath. "I don't know, Goliath, and that's kind of the problem. Have you seen Brooklyn tonight?"

"No," Goliath answered, "Not this evening, but I have only just arrived."

"Goliath," Elisa said softly. "Brooklyn broke off things with Skyler."

Goliath's brow rose in surprise.

Elisa continued, "She's here at home. She's asleep in the living room for now, but she's a mess and doesn't understand what happened. I tried to get the story, but she doesn't seem to understand it herself. I will keep my eye on her, but you may need to find Brooklyn."

He couldn't actually see her, but in his head he could picture her pacing and gesturing as she did when she was agitated.

"I will look for him," Goliath promised. "I do not know what could have prompted him to do this."

"I don't either," Elisa said. "I'm worried about him."

"As am I," Goliath said. "I may not make it home tonight, but I will go and look for Brooklyn."

"Thanks, Big Guy," Elisa said. "I love you."

"As I love you," Goliath promised back before ending the call.

Elisa slipped the phone back into her pocket.

One thing that Skyler had said stuck with Elisa. "He said it was too dangerous," Skyler had said. "He said it would be better for everyone if we didn't see each other anymore."

"Oh, Brooklyn," Elisa whispered, shaking her head sadly. "What did you do?"

**-{- -{- -{- -{- -{- **

Goliath found Brooklyn, still on the top of his tower, where he had been the last time Goliath had seen him that evening. The younger male was sitting on the ground, his back against the low wall. His wings were extended to either side of him, laying limply on the ground beside him. His head hanging low, arms crossed across his chest as if her were trying to block the world out.

Goliath said nothing, just approached his young second. In the silent language of males, regardless of race, religion or species, he said nothing. He simply places a supportive hand on the bare red shoulder of the clearly miserable Gargoyle.

"You don't have to say anything," He said sadly.

"I was not going to say a word," Goliath said, understandingly. "But I am here if you need to talk."

Brooklyn was silent for a few moments. "I had to do it," He said harshly. "It's the only way to keep her safe."

"Safe?" Goliath asked, surprised. "Safe from what?"

"From everything," Brooklyn burst out, springing to his feet. "From people like the Hunters. From Demona. From everything that you and…" He broke off with a muffled oath.

"From everything that Elisa and I have gone through," Goliath finished for him with a sigh.

"Yeah," Brooklyn huffed out. "I don't know how the two of you do it, because I don't think I can."

"You do not care for Skyler?"

"Of course I do," Brooklyn protested. "But she's not like Elisa," He pointed out. "She's not a police officer, trained to protect herself. Even then, look at Elisa and what she's gone through because of us."

"I am well aware of what Elisa has gone through," Goliath said harshly, "As well as all the times I couldn't save her."

"Then can you blame me?" Brooklyn asked, his eyes pleading with his leader. "Can you blame me for wanting her to be safe?"

"No,"" Goliath said softly. "But are you sure that this is how you want to go about it?"

"I don't know," Brooklyn said, the tension suddenly leaving his body. "I'm not sure about anything but the need to keep her safe."

"I understand that need," Goliath said. He did understand, but he knew that he didn't want to live without Elisa by his side. Selfish as it may sound, he couldn't just let her go and push her away like Brooklyn had done. "And if this is how you choose to protect her, so be it… But Brooklyn," He started.

Brooklyn raised a taloned hand, cutting his leader's protests short. "Goliath, it's done," He said.

"Yes," Goliath said, sadly. "I suppose it is done. Come," Goliath said, "Sunrise approaches."


	4. Chapter 4

THE NEXT NIGHT

It hadn't been an easy day.

Elisa had spent the majority of the day trying to help Skyler, but there was only so much she could do.

After the emotional purge last night, in the light of day, Skyler seemed unwilling to talk about it. She was wandering around, her usual smile on her face. The only sign that something was wrong was the sadness in her eyes.

By afternoon, Elisa gave up and called Beth.

After Beth got off work, she had swung by Elisa's and made noise about exercising an "auntie's" right to take her nephew and spoil him rotten for the night, making it sound like it was her idea for the impromptu visit and not letting on that she knew anything had happened.

Liam loved his Auntie Beth, and was excited at the prospect of spending his Friday night with her.

The moment that the door closed behind them, Skyler's face fell. Elisa told her to go get some rest, to have a long bath, a glass of wine and to enjoy the night off.

-{- -{- -{- -{- -{-

Skyler was doing just that when Elisa left for work a few hours later.

Not that she didn't appreciate the night off, but without Liam there to distract her, she had too much time on her hands.

After soaking in the oversized tub, she got dressed. On a whim, she put on her favorite jeans and her cute white button-up shirt with the cap sleeves and decorated with faded pink rosebuds. She even did her hair and put on a little makeup. It made her feel a little better, and for the first time in almost two days, she didn't look like a total zombie.

Now that that was done…

What was she going to do with herself? She looked outside out of habit, realizing that the sun was about to set, the last gold and pink beginning to fade from the sky.

She'd usually be heading to the castle right now, She though sadly, then gave herself a mental shake.

No. She was not going to sit at home, alone, and dwell on this. Couples broke up every day, and went on with their lives, so could she.

She grabbed the keys to her small, second hand Toyota and headed for the door. If nothing else, maybe she'd go get some coffee.

Suddenly, being in a big, noisy coffee shop surrounded by other people sounded amazing.


	5. Chapter 5

"Skyler!" Elisa jumped a little at the familiar voice behind her, surprised. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, sorry," Skyler said, flushing a little in embarrassment. She held up a cardboard tray filled with coffee from Elisa's favorite local coffee shop. "I thought you might be tired after holding my hand all day, so I wanted to bring you a fresh source of caffeine."

"You are a saint," Elisa said in relief. She was happy for the coffee, and the fact that there was nothing wrong at home.

"Beth actually called before I left and asked if she could keep Liam one more night. She's having fun spoiling Liam, and wanted to make sure it was okay. I was going to call, then thought about the coffee," Skyler shrugged, "So I thought I'd just run down here and check with you."

"Who am I to stand in the way of my son being spoiled by his auntie?" Elis laughed.

"She said that she'd bring him by first thing in the morning on Monday, before she'd have to go to work. I'm probably going to head back now, curl up with a good book and go to bed a little early."

"Looking like that?" Elisa said, taking in her made up appearance. "Why don't you go catch a late movie and enjoy your free night," Elisa suggested with a smile.

"Maybe," Skyler laughed. "I'll think about it."

"Hey Skyler," Matt said, dodging around the two women to sit at his desk.

"Oh, Matt," Skyler jumped a little, but recovered quickly. She reached into the carrier, and handed him the cup with his name on it. "You like the Caramel and Hazelnut, right?"

Matt lifted a single eyebrow. "Forgive me for asking, but how the hell did you remember that?"

Skyler shrugged. "It's a gift."

"Gift, nothin'," He muttered into his cup. "Whatever she's paying you is not enough."

Skyler laughed.

Elisa noticed several male heads suddenly turn in their direction. If her entry into the station had not caught their attention, her laugh sure had. It was lighthearted and infectious… and completely out of place at a police station.

Elisa caught a few of their eyes and shook her head. She knew these guys, respected most of them, but no. Just no.

Detective Travis appeared at that moment.

"I see you guys got the memo too," he said, raising his own cup of store bought coffee. "Briggs is on coffee duty tonight."

"That's bad?" Skyler asked.

"You have no idea," Elisa said with a chuckle. "No one will touch her coffee, and whatever is left at the end of the night ends up the consistency of tar."

"They should use it to fill some of the potholes in the parking lot," Travis said with a grin.

Skyler laughed again, and it was as if Stephen Travis, Detective extraordinaire had only just noticed she was there.

"Hey," he said and held out his hand, "We haven't met yet."

"Sorry," Elisa said, casually setting her coffee down on the desk beside her. "Stephen, this is Skyler, my live in Nanny and sanity saver."

"Ah. So you're the miracle worker." Stephen said, laying on the charm.

Skyler blushed a little, mentally cursing her fair coloring.

Elisa fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Matt, would you mind helping Skyler to her car?" She eyeballed the room pointedly. "If she goes by herself, it would take her an hour."

"I'll do it," Travis said hurriedly.

Without waiting for a response, he gently turned Skyler to the doors.

"I'll see you later Elisa. You too, Matt," Skyler called over her shoulder with a jaunty wave.

"Well," Matt observed between sips of coffee, "She seems to have recovered well."

Elisa frowned. "A little too well," Elisa said, crossing her arms. "She was in her relationship for a year, and after two nights, she's fine? I mean, I don't want her to be miserable, but…"

"But it's just a little too fast," Matt agreed.

"Yeah," Elisa said softly as Travis made his way back to them.

"She's sweet," Travis said. "And she works for you?"

Matt chocked on his coffee.

Elisa slanted him a look. "Meaning?"

Travis raised his hands. "No insults intended, I swear," he grinned. "She's just not what I had pictures as a nanny, that's all."

"Uh huh," Elisa scoffed. "Well, I tried to get an old British one, but the agency was fresh out." She knew she had the reputation of being a hard ass, and she had carefully cultivated it. She picked up her coffee. "Let's go check the hot sheets and see what's going on."

As she walked away, Travis muttered, "How that girl is around Elisa every day, and not completely crazy is beyond me." Travis sent a questioning look at Matt. "So… This Skyler. Is she single?"

"She is fresh out of a relationship," Matt threw a companionable arm around the younger man's shoulders. "So… Let's just say that Skyler has some good bodyguards, Elisa being one of them. Now ask yourself how brave you're feeling today."

"Good point," Travis said slowly. "I asked her if she was going to that Halloween thing you guys told me about, and that she'd been there. She even told me what her costume was going to be, so I'm going to try to find something to go with it, and that she'd see me there…" He trailed off, looking uneasy. "Is Maza going to hurt me?"

Matt shrugged, feeling that he had already done his best to warn Travis of the potential danger. What he did with that information was his choice. "Let's get to work."

-{- -{- -{- -{- -{-

Elisa made a point to stop by the castle that night. She'd sent Matt and Travis off on an errand to buy herself at least half an hour, and had them drop her off with the excuse of grabbing food from the Three Shots, the Mexican restaurant on the ground floor of the Xanatos building. Part Restaurant, part bar, the Three Shots stayed open until regular bar closing times, so they were open late. As a bonus, the owner was a friend, and knew of the Gargoyles.

She stopped in, had a short conversation with Penelope, the owner and chef, and then turned in a dinner order for herself, Matt and Travis.

While it was being prepared, Elisa rode the express elevator to the castle. She entered the great hall and strode straight through to the courtyard, but didn't see anyone. On a hunch, she walked up the outer stairs that led to the upper walkways, and to Brooklyn's usual spot.

There, sitting between two of the raised merlons that decorated the top of the walls, was Brooklyn. He hadn't heard her approach, and Elisa took the moment to really look at him.

He looked as if he were deep in thought, but there was something about him that fairly radiated sadness.

"Hey," Elisa said softly.

"Hey," He returned, his voice flat.

Oh, yeah, Elisa thought. He was feeling it right about now.

Elisa moved closer, and leaned against the low wall beside him, her cheek resting against the night-cooled stone.

"I just wanted to make sure you're okay," Elisa said.

"I'm fine," Brooklyn said, a little angrily. It was almost as if he were trying to convince everyone as well as himself.

"Okay," Elisa said, soothingly. "I just wanted to see for myself."

Brooklyn got to his feet, and acted like he was about to storm off.

Elisa didn't give him a chance. She cared about him, about the whole clan, and thought of them like family.

When one hurt, they all hurt.

"Brooklyn, I won't push and I won't interfere, I promise," Elisa said softly, she moved quickly so he wouldn't have a chance to back away. She caught him around the shoulders and gave him a hug. "But you're my friend, and I only want you to be happy. If this is truly how you want it to be, I will support you… But if I can help in any way, let me know, okay?"

Brooklyn stiffened for an instant, then he slowly relaxed into the hug. "Thank you," He said before backing away.

He hopped up on the lower part of the wall but hesitated a moment, then asked, "Elisa, with everything that has happened to you… the Hunters, the injuries, shootings and kidnappings… Why have you stayed?"

Elisa cocked her head thoughtfully. "None of that was your fault, none of you. I'd like to say it was no fault of mine but I have made my own decisions, Brooklyn, and as much as we want to protect those we love from everything, we can't. As for why I stayed," Elisa placed a gentle hand, just the lightest of touches, on Brooklyn's shoulder. "You guys are my friends, my Family, and I love you. I can't say that I knew _exactly_ would happen to me over the years, but it hasn't been anything that has made me even think about walking away. Honestly, though," Elisa gave a smile, "Even with everything, the good and the bad, I wouldn't change anything, Brooklyn."

Silently, he nodded then turned and took to the skies.


	6. Chapter 6

October 31

Halloween

Elisa, dressed in her newly purchased gold Belle costume, walked down the crowded street, arm in arm with her husband. Someday she was going to have to think of a different costume for Halloween, but it's the only one that worked as a couple with Goliath.

There were people everywhere. Adults, kids, families.

Lining the street were food vendors, Dia De Los Muertos souvenir vendors, game booths for the kids, and a band playing covers of popular music.

Elisa slanted a flirty look up at Goliath. "I love Halloween," She said with a smile.

Goliath smiled down at her. "It is fortunate that your captain gave you the night off."

Elisa made a face. "Gave? We had to have a talk last year. I offered to pull double shifts on any other holidays, but that I needed to have Halloween off. Luckily, she understood, and she's holding that promise over my head this year for New Years' Eve. Mom and dad insisted on taking Liam trick or treating in their neighborhood, and they're keeping him for the night. We have the whole night to ourselves."

"Well," Goliath chuckled. "Let us not waste the time that we have." He swept her into a dance in time with the band.

After the emotional roller coaster of the last few weeks, it was such a relief to be able to relax and just be together with her husband.

Even Matt and Pamela were here. They had come in pairs of oversize footie pajamas, like little kids and carrying their baby that they had dressed to look like a sock monkey toy. It was adorable… and Elisa was not going to let the opportunity pass to tease him about it on their shift tomorrow.

The whole clan was here tonight, as well, taking a portion of the night to enjoy the festivities.

Ironically, the most popular costumes were, once again, Gargoyles. Elisa wondered how the people would react knowing that the real Gargoyles were here and wandering among them.

In the spirit of things, they had improvised costumes for the evening. Angela has basically rolled in glitter, donned a white dress and glued on layers of feathers on her wings to make herself into an actual Angel. Broadway had chosen to wear his trench coat and fedora, and Lexington had layers of something black painted on to look like a bat. As far as Goliath, he had given in and allowed a large zipper to be glued to his back, just between his wings to give the impression of his being in costume.

Hudson and Bronx were spending the evening with their friend, Robbins.

When Brooklyn had discovered that Skyler had planned on being at the festival, he had opted to stay at the castle and monitor the communicators which was normally Lexington's job.

Over the last few days, he was growing more and more short-tempered.

For that reason, out of self-preservation, no one had mentioned that Skyler would be there with a date.

Once the song ended, Elisa and Goliath broke apart and began making their way through the crowd. Several times, Elisa had managed to spot the rest of the clan, and had even caught sight of Skyler.

Skyler was wearing a billowy pink gown, a tall crown and carried a large 'magic wand'. The dress had enough glitter to look like a disco ball, but she made an impressive Glenda the Good. Detective Travis had managed to scrape together an impressive Tin Man costume, leaving Elisa to wonder how he was managing to move in it.

Elisa frowned. Skyler insisted that they were here only as friends, but she worried that Travis was thinking otherwise. He was acting a little too protective.

"Elisa," Goliath gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, bringing herself back to herself.

"Sorry, Big Guy," she said.

He followed her haze and frowned.

Elisa sighed. "I just wanted them to be as happy as we are."

He looked down at her and smiled. "I am not sure such a thing is possible."

Elisa smiled and placed her hand against the side of his face. "Probably not," she said.

She was just raising her face for a kiss, when the sound of squealing tires broke the festive atmosphere.

People began shouting, and Elisa saw that everyone was running in their direction. Goliath instinctively wrapped her in his wings to protect her from the unknown threat, and moved them both into the side of the nearest building to get out of the path.

Once it became obvious that they weren't in danger of being trampled, Goliath once again caped his wings around his shoulders.

Now that that the crowd was thinning, Elisa looked towards the direction of the noise and felt her breath catch.

A car had gone through the blockades that had been set up to keep the street festival closed off to traffic.

Elisa broke into a run towards the car, pushing through the fleeing people. She potted a pajama clad Matt running in the same direction.

Once the area was clear, Elisa had only a second to take in the scene. A large older style Buick had broken through, the front end was hanging in the air a foot off the ground. Two bodies were on the ground beneath it, one an adult and the smaller form of a child.

"Elisa!" Skyler's scared voice reached her, and Elisa looked at her.

Both her arms were pointed at the car, palms facing it, a faint green glowing mist encased her hands.

"Get them out!" Skyler screamed.

Elisa ranthen, stopping in a full skid on her knees, tearing holes in the delicate fabric with the force.

With Matt at her side, they grabbed the closest body, the adult, and pulled it from under the car.

"I can't hold it," Skyler cried.

The Gargoyles converged on the car as a single group, holding it aloft.

Matt grabbed the child and pulled him free as well.

Once both injured people were out from under the car, Skyler dropped her arms, eyes rolling back and collapsed.

"Broadway, turn the car off." She watched as Broadway reached through the window and retrieved the keys. Now that the wheels were no longer turning, the clan lowered the car to the ground. "Goliath," Elisa called. "Get Skyler out of here!"

Goliath hurried forward and scooped up the unconscious woman. He and the rest of the Gargoyles ran down a nearby alley, disappearing into the darkness.

This young boy was crying now, a good sign for Elisa, as she took over the assessment of the woman.

Elisa used her hands to stabilize the woman's neck. The woman was breathing, but Elisa could tell she was struggling.

"Has someone called 911?" Elisa asked in a yell. She looked up and found the Tin Man, still standing in his place on the sidewalk, frozen.

"Travis," Elisa barked. "Travis," She tried again. When there was no reaction, she increased her volume. "Detective Stephen Travis, snap out of it."

Travis's eyes suddenly focused on her. "Yeah, yeah…" he automatically took out his phone, but just stared at the screen.

"Matt," Elisa called out. "I don't have my phone," cursing herself for not having it on her, because she'd given it to Goliath to carry for her since she hadn't had the time to have pockets put in her dress.

Matt got to his feet and grabbed the phone from Travis. "Get it together," Matt snapped. He dialed the number, then returned to the child. "Don't move, buddy," Matt told the boy softly. The 911 operator answered in his ear, "This is Detective Bluestone, 23rd precinct. I have an MVA, Car versus Pedestrians with injuries at the corner of…"

Elisa tuned him out at that point, and focused on the woman on the ground in front of her.

"Elisa," Matt called, tossing her the phone.

She grabbed it out of the air. "This is Detective Maza, 23rd precinct. We have a woman who is unconscious. Definite head injury, open laceration on her face," Elisa reported. "Open fracture of her left leg, and a possible pelvis injury."

"And the child?" The 911 operator asked.

"I'm staying with the adult. My partner has the child," Elisa called out, "Matt," then tossed the phone back to him.

"It's me again," He said into the phone. "I have a boy named Shawn Arthur, age 6, lost consciousness for a minute or two, but has come around. The woman is his mother, named Joan Arthur. Age of the mother unknown."

Sirens and horns suddenly cut into the hush that had fallen the previously festive area. Elisa looked around and realized that many of the onlookers had made their way back now that the danger had passed.

"If anyone lives near here, we need blankets, towels, anything to keep them warm," Elisa called out. "If anyone here knows first aid, we could use some extra hands as well."

"I am taking a class right now," A young man said, walking forward.

"That'll work," Elisa said. "I need you to go check on the driver of the car. I'll ask you questions, and you answer, okay?"

The young man nodded, and hurried to the driver's side of the car.

"Are they hurt?" Elisa asked.

The young man relayed the rapid fire questions that Elisa shot at him.

No, he wasn't hurt.

Yes, he appeared to be in shock.

Yes, he was able to answer questions, but sluggish.

The young man raced over to Elisa then and whispered, "I think he's been drinking."

Elisa nodded solemnly. "For right now, keep them talking. I hear the sirens, so help is near. We need to keep him conscious."

The boy nodded, and went back to the car.

The woman began stirring, and Elisa felt the woman trying to turn her head.

"Ma'am?"

"Joan," Matt corrected her.

"Joan," Elisa said firmly. "I need you to hold still. You were in an accident."

"Shawn?" She asked, her eyes still closed.

"He's fine," Elisa assured her. "You both need to go to the hospital, but he is awake, and close by, okay?"

"Kay," She said, and went still again.

Blankets and towels were brought and used to cover mother and child, in an effort to stave off any of the shock effects that could be fatal in accidents like this.

The red and blue flashing lights began coloring the area, and Elisa breathed a sigh of relief.

Help was here.


	7. Chapter 7

Once the three people were on their way to the hospital, Elisa spoke to the officers who had responded, and gave them the information that she could. Matt and the young man who had assisted them also spoke to the officers.

Elisa spotted Detective Travis, who had finally stripped off the Tin Man costume, and was waiting nearby.

"You believe that the driver may have been drunk?" The officer asked her.

"Not necessarily," Elisa said, impatiently. "He might be diabetic. If a diabetic's blood sugar is out of whack, they exhibit signs of being intoxicated."

The officer's eyebrow cocked. "Really?"

"Yes," Elisa said, sounding overly snappish to even herself. "I'm just saying that we shouldn't jump to conclusions until tests can be run. Look, I'm a detective at the 23rd, and you have my contact information. I need to find a few of my friends who were here as well tonight, and make sure everyone got home okay."

"We'll be in touch," The officer promised.

Elisa turned and walked towards Matt. "We've got to go," Elisa insisted.

"We're good here," Said the officer with Matt.

"Thanks," Elisa said.

"Are you sure you're okay?" The officer said, shooting an uncertain look at Elisa's torn and bloodstained dress.

"I'm fine," Elisa insisted. "I can't believe I ruined another of these damn dresses," Elisa muttered to where only Matt heard her.

"Maybe next year, you should think about a different costume." Matt suggested.

"Yeah, yeah," Elisa said. "We need to get to Travis before anyone else does."

Matt nodded.

"Travis," He called out. "Let's take a ride."

Travis nodded, and followed the two of them.

"Your car or mine?" Elisa asked.

"Yours," He said. "I sent Pamela and the baby home as soon as the paramedics took over."

Elisa nodded once, sharply. "Guess it was a good thing that I met Goliath here tonight instead of having him bring me," she muttered.

So much for having a relaxing Halloween.


	8. Chapter 8

Elisa and Matt sat in the front, with a silent Travis sitting behind them, the metal bits of his costume on the seat beside him.

Elisa pulled into a nearly empty supermarket parking lot.

Throwing the car into gear, she reached across Matt for the small communicator she kept in her glove box.

"Woah, Elisa," Matt said, holding his hands skyward. "Personal space."

"Not right now, Matt." Elisa said, between her clenched jaws. She found the communicator and popped it in her ear. She held her hand out to him. "Phone."

Matt handed her the phone without argument.

Elisa opened her door and stepped out into the cold night air. She activated the communicator, held the phone for a moment and pretended to dial, keeping up appearances for Detective Travis for the time being. Only then did she begin talking.

"Hey guys, are you there?" Elisa asked.

"Hey, Elisa," Brooklyn answered, and Elisa mentally cursed.

"Brooklyn, did everyone make it back?"

"Back?" He asked, confused. "Did the party end early?"

"Something like that," Elisa said. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the castle," He answered slowly. "Why?"

"They would have been there by now, if they were going to the castle," Elisa thought out loud. "They must have gone to the condo."

"Elisa," Brooklyn broke in. "What happened?"

Elisa took a deep breath, and ran a hand roughly through her hair. She took a few steps away from the car before she answered. "Brooklyn," She said softly. "Something happened with Skyler. She's okay," Elisa hurried to assure him, "But… hell, I don't even know what happened. Not really. I need to talk to her first."

She was met with silence.

"Brooklyn?" Elisa asked. "Brooklyn!"

"I'm heading to your place, Elisa," He said, followed by the sound of rushing wind.

"I will be there as soon as I can," Elisa said. "Tell the others. I have a situation here that needs clearing up, but I will be there as soon as I can."

"Got it," he said shortly.

Elisa sighed, and "hung up" the phone. Turning, she returned to her car and the two men who were inside. She opened up the door and debated with herself. Finally, she motioned for them both to get out.

Matt and Travis got out, cautiously.

"Okay," Elisa said, slowly and deliberately. "I sent Skyler home with some friends of mine, and she should be there any moment. I should hear back from them in a few minutes. Matt," She held out the phone, "Call Pamela, and let her know you're okay."

Matt nodded. "That's a good idea, thanks."

While Matt took care of his phone call, Elisa looked to Travis. "Now, you. What happened?"

Travis still looked a bit shock-y to her.

"We were just talking about which of the stands to go to for food," He said slowly. " Then suddenly, the car comes barreling through the barrier, and she…" He trailed off, then stared at Elisa. "What is she?"

Elisa tilted her head at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," He bit out, something finally breaking through whatever had been making him barely responsive. "What. Is. She? She stopped that car. She levitated the damn thing. She…"

"Do you understand," Elisa said, "Just how crazy you sound? She stopped the car? She levitated it?"

"It's what happened," He said stubbornly.

"If she stopped the car, she saved lives." Elisa snapped. "If she somehow lifted the car off the ground, it helped us to save the people trapped underneath it. But I wasn't asking about her. I was asking what happened to you?"

He blinked at her, "What?"

"There were people hurt," Elisa insisted. "People who needed our help, and you didn't do anything. You froze up. So, what happened to you?"

"I...I…"

"We took on this job to help people," Elisa pressed him. "If you freeze up, don't help when needed, people could die."

"Nothing in the academy prepared me for this," He defended himself.

"You didn't take basic first aid classes?" Elisa pushed on. "Forget about the supernatural crap. First and foremost, you deal with what's in front of you, and then you deal with the other crap."

"Supernatural?" He stuttered.

"Welcome to Manhattan," Elisa said, only to be interrupted by her communicator alerting her to someone else on the line. "Crap, hold on." Elisa pressed the discreet button that would un-mute her conversation. "Guys?"

Travis looked at her oddly.

Matt joined the two of them, his phone call concluded. "She's a real ball buster," He sympathised with Travis in a moment of Male Solidarity, "But she's good. If you can put up with it, she's going to get you the best training that you would ever get. She can be your best friend," He threw the younger man a look before inserting his own communicator in his ear, "Or she can be your worst enemy." He switched on the communicator. "Hey guys, I'm here too."

Travis looked at the two of them, completely at a loss.

"Elisa," Goliath greeted, "Matt."

"Hey G," Matt said, still conscious that Travis wasn't in on this part yet, and was able to hear at least half the conversation. "You make it home alright?"

"Yes," He said. "Skyler is sleeping on the couch."

"Did she wake up yet?" Elisa asked.

"Is she okay?" Brooklyn's panic laden voice broke in.

Elisa made a face. This was not going to help the situation… Or maybe it would. Either way, it was going to be an emotional mess.

"She's fine," Angela said. "She had some excitement, that's all."

"We all did," Broadway said. "Did you see what she did with that…"

"Guys," Elisa broke in. "Sorry to cut you off, but I have something of a situation here, myself."

"You know Detective Travis?" Matt asked. "He's here now, and is currently catching hell from your wife, G."

There was a silence over the line.

"Are you thinking of bringing him in on the Gargoyle secret?" Lexington asked.

"Maybe," Elisa said. "You did the background check I asked you about?"

"Yes," Lexington said.

"Anything make you nervous?" Elisa asked.

"Not really," Lexington said. "No Quarryman or other anti-gargoyle affiliations. No pro Gargoyle either, but nothing sending up any red flags."

"Fair enough," Elisa said. "I'm still not sure, but if anything changes, I will let you know."

"Were you able to help those people?" Goliath asked.

"As much as we could," Elisa said. "They're at the hospital now. I'll try to check on them later."

"I'm almost there," A breathless Brooklyn reported.

Elisa rolled her eyes at Matt. "It sounds like you're about to have your hands full. I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Be safe, My Elisa." Goliath said.

"You too, Big Guy," Elisa responded out of habit.

She and Matt removed the communicators at the same time.

"He calls you 'My Elisa'?" Matt asked softly. "That's so cute."

"Bite me," Elisa responded equally as soft.

"Ok," Travis said, "What was that?"

"That," Matt said, "Was a kind of a conference call between some of our crime fighting partners."

Elisa chuckled. Leave it to Matt the phrase something that could mean anything from other police officers to Superheroes.

"OK, Travis, I think you're a good guy," Elisa said. "But I'm going to hold you to something."

"Aaaand here comes the blackmail," Matt said.

Elisa threw him a dirty look. "I'm going to introduce you to some friends of mine tonight. Think of them as confidential informants. They have been working with us for years, helping to keep people safe in this city. I'm going to trust you to do this, but if you tell anyone about this," Elisa took a step closer to Travis and let him see how serious she was, "And I do mean ANYONE, I will let it be known far and wide how you reacted tonight, and that you were claiming that there was a girl who magically stopped a runaway car and made it levitate. Not only would you get busted from the program, you would never see the outside of a therapist office again. You understand?"

"Uh, yeah," Travis said.

Elisa sighed. "Alright, everyone in the car. We need to get to my place."

"Sooner would be better than later," Matt said.

"No joke," Elisa said. "This could get messy. Matt give the guys a heads up, will you?"

With that, Elisa cranked over the engine and started her way towards home.


	9. Chapter 9

It was a quiet ride to her place, and the only sound in the elevator was the hum of the motor that pulled them upwards.

Elisa unlocked her door, and held it open for the guys.

Matt entered first, having already been through this a few times with the handful of other humans who had met the clan. It was getting to be old hat for him.

Travis followed Matt, stopping in his tracks when he entered the main living area.

Elisa pushed past him. "Hey guys," She greeted, then looked around. "Where's Goliath?"

"He's outside," Angela said, holding Skyler's hand. "Brooklyn was… upset."

Elisa closed her eyes and silently counted to ten.

"Okay," She said. "Everyone, this is Stephen Travis. Travis, this is Angela, Broadway and Lexington. I'll be right back." With that, she was making her way out to the large rooftop patio.

"They're real," Travis stuttered. "I mean, I heard the stories and saw the news footage a few years ago, but…"

"Nothing beats seeing them in real life," Matt said with a knowing grin. "Wait until you meet Goliath and Brooklyn."

"There are five?" Travis asked.

"Actually," Angela said, getting to her feet, "There are seven of us."

"Wait," Travis said, finally taking in the copious amount of body glitter and feathered wings. "I saw you there tonight."

"Yeah," Broadway said, putting his arm around his mate's waist. He was no longer wearing his coat and hat, however. "We love Halloween."

"It's the only day we can go out and not have to worry about being seen." Lexington said with a grin.

Travis sent Matt a look.

"Come on," Matt encouraged him. "Come in, get comfortable, and I'll fill you in."

**-{- -{- -{- -{- -{- **

Elisa closed the door behind her.

Ahead of her were two familiar forms.

Brooklyn was sitting on one of the benches, head held in his hands.

Goliath was standing beside him, his hand laid supportively on his second's shoulder.

"Hey guys," Elisa called out as she approached.

"Elisa," Goliath responded.

Brooklyn dropped his hands, and met Elisa's gaze.

The hurt and fear in his eyes made her heart ache for him.

"She's alive," Elisa said. "I'm still not entirely sure how it happened, but she tapped into some of her fae powers and saved people tonight."

"But I thought that Oberon took her powers away, like he did the other half fae that had been left out of the gathering." Brooklyn said.

"So did we," Elisa said. "Like I said, I'm not sure how it happened, but it did. She was holding that car in the air so it wouldn't keep going and hurt more people than it already had. It was a fairly big burst of energy, so it probably just tired her out." She put her hand on Brooklyn's other shoulder. "If she doesn't wake up by the time you all need to go to the castle, then we'll all go, and take her with us, okay?"

"Okay," Brooklyn said, reluctantly.

"I know you're worried about her," Elisa said.

"I just wanted her to be safe," He muttered, looking at the ground.

"I know," Elisa said. "I'm not saying that I agree with how you did it, but I understand your wanting to protect her any way that you could."

"I just didn't want her to become a target, and have to go through anything like…" He trailed off.

"Anything Like I have," Elisa filled in. "Remember what I told you, Brooklyn. I could have walked away at any time. I chose this life, and if you want me to be completely honest," Elisa smiled gently, "I wouldn't change even a moment of it."

"Really?" Brooklyn asked, hopefully.

"Well," Elisa thought about it, "There was the whole being sent back in time where I had to deal with a whole host of unpleasant stuff, but if that meant not knowing you guys, or having even one of you guys disappear from my life, then, no. I wouldn't. Surprised?" She said at the expression that crossed his face. Elisa weighed her next words carefully. "I think, if you talk to Skyler about your feelings, and reasons for doing what you did, that you might be surprised by her answer."

"We will give you a few moments to think," Goliath said. He took Elisa by the hand and led her back inside.

In the living area, Travis was busy asking rapid questions of the clan members there. Broadway was sitting in the large wingback chair, with Angela delicately perched on the armrest beside him. Lexington was entertaining him with his observations on modern technology and everyone's reactions to them when they'd first woken up in this time period.

Goliath let go of Elisa's hand once he realized that Travis was there. Elisa wasn't offended, knowing that it was in his nature to be cautious of newcomers before allowing them to know that Goliath and Elisa were anything more than good friends.

Elisa knew that was his way of trying to protect her. She understood, since she wasn't able to shout from the rooftops about their marriage, either. Everyone that she knew and worked with who were aware that she was married, were led to believe that her husband travelled a lot for work and was rarely in town.

Travis was eagerly talking to the clan when she and Goliath entered. He looked at Goliath, and hurriedly got to his feet. Only an inch or two above Elisa's own 5'5" tall, he still had to arch his neck back to look into Goliath's eyes.

"Holy…" He said. "You are tall."

Elisa chuckled. "That's everyone's first reaction."

Goliath held out his hand and shook Travis's hand in greeting.

"It is nice to meet another detective who works with Elisa," Goliath said.

"Uh, yeah," Travis said. "Thanks." He took his hand back, and studied the group. "So… who wants to help me try to understand what happened tonight?"

Elisa raised an eyebrow. "You ever heard, 'There are more things in Heaven and Earth'?"

"Shakespeare," Travis identified.

"Well," Matt broke into the conversation, "Shakespeare knew what he was talking about."

Elisa nodded. "Once you meet the Gargoyles, and find out that they're real, everything else is a little easier to understand."

"Like magic," Matt said.

"Magic?" Travis repeated, doubtfully.

"Not the stage magician stuff," Elisa said. "Real magic."

"I'm sorry," Travis shook his head. "I know that it should make sense, but…"

"It's not easy," Matt said. "Trust me. I met the Gargoyles a few years before I was introduced into the whole Magic and Magic spells exist thing, and it was still hard for me. You're getting a crash course in the supernatural all in one night."

Elisa let Matt take over, and made her way to where Skyler lay on the couch. The time was getting away from them, and it was nearing the time to make a decision. Leave her here at home, or take her to the castle and see if either Owen, their local fae in disguise, or Doctor James could be of any help.

Elisa debated for a moment, then made the call. She was hoping that Skyler would be fine, but Elisa wanted to be sure that she had access to any care that she might need.

"I hate to break up the party, guys and girls," Elisa said, "But I need to borrow the gargoyles."

The clan, with the ease of a single unit who had worked and fought together for longer than the humans in the room had been alive, rose at the same time.

"What's up, Elisa?" Broadway asked.

When they reached her, Elisa purposely lowered her voice. "Would you guys be able to get Skyler to the castle? I'll meet you over there as soon as I can."

Broadway lifted the small female, and Lexington hurried over to open the doors for them. Elisa walked to the door, and watched as Brooklyn joined them. There was a brief discussion, then Skyler was gently placed into Brooklyn's arms for the trip.

"We will get her there safely," Goliath said softly. "We will see you soon."

"Yes," Elisa said. "I'm not sure who would be better to help her, either. Owen or Doctor James."

"We will alert them both," Goliath promised. "She will be taken care of."

"I know, Big Guy," Elisa said with a smile.

The group took to the skies, and Elisa went back inside.

Matt and Travis were still seated, so Elisa took one as well. "You probably have questions," Elisa said wearily. "Go ahead and ask, and I will answer what I can."

"Does anyone else have a connection with the Gargoyles?" Travis asked eagerly. "Other than the two of you?"

"A few other people," Elisa said, not naming names.

"How long have you known them?"

"She's known them for a few years," Matt said with a sigh. "Even after being her parner for almost a year, it still took a while for her to trust me enough to let me in on the secret."

"Yeah," Elisa said, glaring at him. "We're not going to talk about just how he got the information out of me."

"Hey, it worked!" He said with a grin.

"Next question," Elisa said.

"Are they really helpful on the job?" Travis asked.

Elisa gave him a blank look. "If you were a criminal, and in the dark were approached by a gargoyle, what would you do?"

"Drop everything and run," Travis admitted.

"That's pretty much how it happens," Matt admitted.

"Wow," Travis breathed. "Can you imagine how much of a help they would be on the force?"

Elisa raised an eyebrow.

"I meant on the street," He said, "With actual badges."

"Maybe someday," Elisa said. "For right now, if anyone asks, you don't know them. You've never seen them. As far as the outside world knows, you think they are a myth."

"An urban legend," Matt said. "Like alligators in the sewers."

"Gotcha," Travis said. "So… Now that I'm in the loop, can I still train with you guys? I have the book training down pat, but the Detective I was training with at the other house didn't let me get a whole lot of real world experience."

"Alright," Elisa said, getting to her feet. "But you freeze up again, and we're going to have an issue."


	10. Chapter 10

Elisa got back to the castle with just shy of an hour to spare until sunrise.

Skyler wasn't in the clinic. In fact, no one was at the clinic, so Elisa headed back to the elevators and rode them up to the castle levels.

She found the clan in the great hall. "Hey guys," She said coming in. "I'm sorry that I almost missed you. How is Skyler?"

"She's resting," Angela said. "She woke up for a few minutes after we got here, but was so tired that she went back to sleep."

Elisa nodded. "I'm not sure where all that power came from, but she hasn't been sleeping well, so she probably just needs some sleep."

"That's what the doctor thought, too," Angela agreed.

"But… how?" Brooklyn asked, still seeming overwhelmed. "I thought Oberon took all of her powers when he took the other Halflings' powers a year ago."

"I don't know," Elisa shook her head.

"Elisa," Margaret greeted from the doorway.

"Margaret? Did they call you in?" Elisa asked.

"Nope," Margaret grinned. "They hired me. Full time during the week, on call every other weekend, a benefits package that is not to be ignored, and," she dropped her voice, "the pay makes me regret not going into private medicine sooner."

"That good?" Elisa laughed.

"Better," Margaret responded. "Doctor James was more than willing to beat my current salary in order for those weekends off, unless a dire emergency comes up. He's enjoying married life."

Elisa blinked. "Oh, my god, I completely forgot for a moment."

Margaret shrugged. "You were a little busy at the time. Now," She turned to include the Gargoyles into the discussion, "Skyler is fine. All of her tests came back in normal limits, she's just tired. She told me that she hasn't been sleeping well, so I'm thinking that a few hours of uninterrupted rest would do her good."

Elisa nodded, "I will call Beth and see if she can take Liam to my parents for the day to give her some time off."

"She is more than welcome to sleep it off in the clinic. It's Saturday, so we won't even have regular patients until Monday." Margaret said.

Elisa frowned. "Wouldn't she be more comfortable at home?"

"Probably," Margaret admitted. "But it's close enough to daylight that the clan can't get to your place in time, and we'd have to wake her up to get her in and out of your car. I'd rather she just have sleep."

"Then leave her where she is," Elisa suggested. "She'll be fine here, and I'll let Xanatos and Fox know that she's here so they won't wonder why she's here."

Margaret nodded. "I'll come check on her every hour or two but I'm not anticipating any problems."

"Sounds like a plan," Elisa said. "I'll come by before work tonight and pick her up. In the meantime, I need to go find Owen."

Margaret raised an eyebrow at her. "The Xanatos stone faced, and somehow stone fisted, major domo with zero personality?"

"That's the one," Elisa said.

**-{- -{- -{- -{- -{- **

On his way to his perch for the day's rest, Brooklyn fought the urge to check on Skyler.

'Obviously, you lost the fight,' a voice in his head sneered, 'Because here you are.'

Just a quick check on her, and he'd leave, he promised himself.

As quietly as he could, he turned the knob on her room and peered through the opening.

"Come in," Skyler called out sleepily. "I know you're there."

Brooklyn almost turned and ran, then called himself every kind of a coward. He opened the door and entered.

"Hey," Brooklyn said, awkwardly.

"Hey," Skyler responded with a frown. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but why are you here?"

"I, uh…" Brooklyn stuttered, "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," Skyler said. "Just tired. You can go back to ignoring me now."

"Skyler," Brooklyn raised a hand in entreaty to her. He dropped his hand and hung his head. "I'm sorry," Brooklyn said, not wanting to meet her eyes. "I didn't want to hurt you. I was only trying to protect you."

"By breaking it off with me?" Skyler fumed. "Don't you think that should be my decision? I've been protecting myself since I was abandoned at 12 years old, from far worse than anything that could possibly happen to me here."

Brooklyn flinched. She had told him about some of the homes that she'd been placed in while in foster care, and he knew she truly believed that.

"You think you could, but…"

Skyler cut him off. "But what? I don't need protection. I need someone by my side that would support me. Do you think that you wouldn't be there to help me just as much as Goliath would help Elisa?"

"Of course I would try, but…"

"Just stop," Skyler sighed. "I'm too tired to fight with you about it."

"Look at what's happened to Elisa, for nothing more than her association with the clan?" Brooklyn insisted. "She's been shot… a couple of times… Kidnapped, basically held hostage, and gone missing for months. She's had to hide a good chunk of her life from her friends and family, with only a very few who know about us."

"And yet, she's still here," Skyler pointed out. "She is here, alive and well. She and Goliath have a relationship, a marriage and a family. Both would willingly throw themselves in front of a bus, if it meant saving the other one."

"Skyler, you don't understand…"

"What? What don't I understand?" Skyler almost shouted. "I talked to Elisa about all of this a year ago, before we started seeing each other. She told me all of the ups, the downs, the aging differences, the keeping secrets, the importance of not being seen for all of our protection… all of it."

Brooklyn was shocked. "You knew all of that?"

"Yes, because I wanted to know what all was involved, and to make sure that I didn't do anything stupid that would put you… any of you… in danger." Skyler sent him a look. "I'm not stupid."

"Of course not," Brooklyn said.

"But you make a decision like this, without even taking my feelings into consideration," Skyler said. "So, congratulations, I guess. I'm not your problem anymore," She said sadly. "It's almost sunrise, you'd better go."

With that, Skyler rolled over to face the wall opposite the door, effectively shutting Brooklyn out.

Chest tight, he turned and left the room, making sure to close the door behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

"My brain feels fuzzy," Skyler said when Owen had asked how she was feeling.

"I'm sure," He said in his monotone. "Tapping that kind of power, untrained and unaware it was there was bound to leave you exhausted."

"You have no idea," She answered.

"The question is how you still have power," Owen mused. It is not like Oberon to make such an oversight."

Skyler blushed. "I knew I had a little left… before the accident."

Owen raised his brow in speculation. "What do you mean?"

"A few weeks after Oberon supposedly took my powers," Skyler said, "Liam and I were at the park. This big dog came out of nowhere and was running right for him." Skyler shuddered. "It was just him and I, out for a late afternoon when he woke early. And I… I'm not even sure how I did it," She admitted, "But suddenly the dog was a few inches off the ground, turned around and kind of pushed far away."

"Hmm," Owen said, seemingly deep in thought. "Have you been able to do anything when someone was not in danger?"

"No," Skyler said. "And after that day in the park, believe me, I tried."

"I wonder if it was similar to the restrictions that Oberon put on me," Owen said. "I am not allowed to use my powers, unless protecting or training Alex."

"I don't know," Skyler said, looking down at her hands in frustration. "I was hoping you could tell me, so I could stop being trouble for everyone."

"I may have an idea on how to test the theory," he said. "Though you probably will not like it."

"Anything," Skyler said.

"Alright," He said. "Meet me in the courtyard in half an hour. We will put this theory to the test."

"Should I be worried?" Skyler asked. For just an instant, there was a very… Puckish… look in his eyes.

He was as bland as ever when he spoke. "Perhaps."

Then the door shut behind him.

**-{- -{- -{- -{- -{- **

"I don't know," Brooklyn said hesitantly. "Goliath and Elisa will be supremely upset if they find out about this."

"I'm not going to tell them," Broadway said firmly.

"But, what if something goes wrong?" Lexington said.

"I have complete faith that you will keep that from happening," Owen said.

"Alright," Brooklyn said suddenly. "If it will help Skyler, I'll do it."


	12. Chapter 12

"My brain feels fuzzy," Skyler said when Owen had asked how she was feeling.

"I'm sure," He said in his monotone. "Tapping that kind of power, untrained and unaware it was there was bound to leave you exhausted."

"You have no idea," She answered.

"The question is how you still have power," Owen mused. It is not like Oberon to make such an oversight."

Skyler blushed. "I knew I had a little left… before the accident."

Owen raised his brow in speculation. "What do you mean?"

"A few weeks after Oberon supposedly took my powers," Skyler said, "Liam and I were at the park. This big dog came out of nowhere and was running right for him." Skyler shuddered. "It was just him and I, out for a late afternoon when he woke early. And I… I'm not even sure how I did it," She admitted, "But suddenly the dog was a few inches off the ground, turned around and kind of pushed far away."

"Hmm," Owen said, seemingly deep in thought. "Have you been able to do anything when someone was not in danger?"

"No," Skyler said. "And after that day in the park, believe me, I tried."

"I wonder if it was similar to the restrictions that Oberon put on me," Owen said. "I am not allowed to use my powers, unless protecting or training Alex."

"I don't know," Skyler said, looking down at her hands in frustration. "I was hoping you could tell me, so I could stop being trouble for everyone."

"I may have an idea on how to test the theory," he said. "Though you probably will not like it."

"Anything," Skyler said.

"Alright," He said. "Meet me in the courtyard in half an hour. We will put this theory to the test."

"Should I be worried?" Skyler asked. For just an instant, there was a very… Puckish… look in his eyes.

He was as bland as ever when he spoke. "Perhaps."

Then the door shut behind him.

**-{- -{- -{- -{- -{- **

"I don't know," Brooklyn said hesitantly. "Goliath and Elisa will be supremely upset if they find out about this."

"I'm not going to tell them," Broadway said firmly.

"But, what if something goes wrong?" Lexington said.

"I have complete faith that you will keep that from happening," Owen said.

"Alright," Brooklyn said suddenly. "If it will help Skyler, I'll do it."


	13. Chapter 13

"Hello?" Skyler called into the silence. She's waited the hour, then had migrated to the meeting place. She had no idea what to expect.

"Skye!" A familiar small voice called. It was faint, sounding as if it were far away, but she could hear it.

"Liam?" She called out, her eyes straining to see in the darkness. "Liam, where are you?"

"Up here!" He answered, and Skyler felt her heart stop.

There, above the courtyard, on one of the high towers, stood Liam. He waved a hand at her, leaning way too far out.

"Stay there, buddy," Skyler shouted, running for the steps that would take her up to him. "Don't move!"

"I'm gonna fly!" He called.

"What?" Skyler stopped, fear freezing her feet halfway up the stairs.

Suddenly, Liam was airborne.

"No!" Skyler screamed, then raised her arms as if she could catch him. There was no way. She would never be fast enough, strong enough.

Suddenly, Liam's descent began to slow.

"Oh, please, please, please," Skyler chanted.

Liam's fall was slowing, but not enough. He was going to hit the stone ground.

She waited until he was almost level with her, then she dropped her arms and leapt. She wrapped her arms around him, turning in mid-air so that she would be the one to hit the ground and hopefully cushion him so that he would be safe.

She closed her eyes and waited for them to hit. At this height, halfway to the tower top…

Strong arms caught them. It was jarring, but not the deadly hit she'd been expecting.

"That was fun!" Liam said. "Can we do it again?"

Skyler was still afraid to open her eyes.

Especially when Goliath's furious roar echoed from above.

"Uh, oh," a familiar voice whispered in her ear.

She opened her eyes and found that it was Brooklyn who had caught them.

"Oh, thank the Gods," She said throwing her arms around his neck. "You caught us."

"Yeah," Brooklyn said, wearily eyeing Goliath who had landed and was currently being assured by Broadway and Lexington that, no, his son hadn't really been in danger. "About that…"

"Very well done," Owen said from behind them.

Skyler blinked from him to Broadway and back again. "This was your test?" she demanded. "Seriously?"

"I had to see if you would be able to call upon your power if there was a danger to Liam," Owen said with a shrug. "It seems that if you truly believe that someone's life is at stake, your power comes instinctively."

"Meaning?" She asked.

"Meaning that Oberon may have taken some of your power," Owen said, that gleam coming again, "but he took only a little of it. A Halfling's portion, really."

"But…" She started, only to stop, puzzled.

"It seems," Owen said, "That both your mother and father must have been fae. You aren't a Halfling, just an untrained, full blood fae."

Goliath came storming up to where the four of them were, and Skyler became suddenly aware that she was still in Brooklyn's arms.

She began to struggle to get out, holding Liam the whole time. "Put me down," She hissed.

"Not a chance," Brooklyn said with a grin. "You're my shield."

"Goliath," She said hurriedly, "I am so sorry…"

"This was not your idea, I am sure of it." He threw a deadly look at Owen.

"We had to find out what had prompted Miss Henrick's sudden display of power," Owen said. "It seems that we may have found it."

Skyler gave Liam a brief hug, before turning the boy over to his father.

"Let's not tell Elisa about this," Goliath said, quietly.

"Tell me about what?" Elisa said, smiling as she came through the door.

"Mama," Liam shouted, squirming in his father's hands to reach for his mother. "I flew!"

Elisa's steps faltered for just a moment. "Okay," She said. "With who?"

"Skye!" He announced excitedly.

Elisa gave Skyler a glance. "Do I want to know?"

Skyler looked up as the offending parties were slowly backing away.

She laughed. "I'll explain later," She promised Elisa.

"In other words, I don't want to know," Elisa said with a sigh.

"Probably not," Skyler agrees.

"I would like to have Miss Henrick to begin training lessons with Alexander Xanatos," Owen said.

"Really?" Skyler exclaimed.

"Yes," Owen said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "It wouldn't do to have such untapped power loose on the city, with no way to control it."

"It's not a bad idea," Elisa said, softly. "You can take your training lessons with Alexander, and bring Liam to the castle with you, so you won't have to worry about him. He can play with Christopher in at monstrosity of a toy room, and you can have some hands-on training."

"I am sorry for any trouble I caused you," Skyler rushed to get out.

"Skyler," Elisa said, putting a supportive hand on Skyler's arm. "You saved 2 lives. Probably more, if I'm being honest. I'm sorry that you're getting thrown into the media mess, but I'm glad you were there to help. Both mother and child are alive, and the driver was able to get medical attention before his condition worsened. Whether science or sorcery, I'm glad you were able to help."

"But I've caused so much trouble," Skyler cried. "The pictures…"

"You're a hero," Elisa interrupted her. "No seeone recognized you, thanks to the costume, so you're safe."

"But I could be recognized," Skyler stated. "And bring even more attention to you. They could follow me, and put together the connection with being here, and the Gargoyles…"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Elisa said simply. She set Liam down on the ground, "Go get your daddy, and have him take you to go play with Alex and Christopher," she told her son, then turned back to Skyler. "One thing I've learned in the last few years, is not to deal with the 'what if's'. It will just burn you out. Deal with the here and now. Focus on the important stuff, and we will handle the rest together."

Skyler nodded.

"And right now," Elisa said, looking over Skyler's shoulder, "It looks like someone's waiting to talk to you, so I'll just…" Elisa gestured to where some of the clan had gathered and were tossing a gleeful Liam in the air and catching him.

Skyler turned and found Brooklyn there, alone, waiting patiently to talk to her.

Skyler drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Despite the sleep she'd gotten during the day, she was suddenly so tired. She didn't want another scene with Brooklyn, but didn't know how to avoid it.

He approached her almost hesitantly. "Skyler, just let me say this one thing, and if you don't want to talk to me after, I'll shut up."

"Okay," Skyler said, bowing her head, and letting her hair fall forward as if it were a curtain to hide any lingering emotions that may be on her face.

"You were right," he said in a rush. "I was wrong to make such a big decision on my own, without talking to you. I was just trying to protect you, and chose the worst possible way to do it."

"But, why?" Skyler asked quietly.

"Demona," Brooklyn bit out. "When she was being held here at the castle, she made threats towards Elisa and any other human involved with the clan. I have been alone so long, that having someone to care about is still new and frightening. The thought of something happening to you…" He reached out and one side of her hair behind her ear, and seeing the tears on her cheeks broke what resolve he had. "Skyler," he said, gathering her to him in a desperate embrace. "Don't cry." He said softly, for her ears only. "I love you."

A sob escaped Skyler then. She brought her arms up, and held him close with a desperation all her own.

"I was so scared," Skyler sobbed into his shoulder. "I was so afraid that I was going to lose you, and the only real family that I've had for so long."

Brooklyn stroked her hair and held her as she cried, ignoring the rest of the clan as they silently filed past to give them privacy.

"I'm here," he said into her hair. "And I'm not going anywhere. Never again."

For the rest of the night, the two stayed in the courtyard talking, embracing and just being with each other.

By the time the sun rose that morning, they had mended all misunderstandings between them, and began talking about their future together.

Once the clan was asleep for the day, Owen, Skyler and Elisa had put together a schedule for her training.


	14. Chapter 14

Epilogue:

For the next week, Elisa spent a lot of time fending off reporters.

A new set of pictures of the accident had emerged and renewed the interest.

One was a doctored copy of the original, but this one showed the car being propped up by a stack of broken police barricades, as if they had been jammed under the car in the accident. Once that had been put into place, Skyler's raised arms looked like it was a defensive reaction to the car coming her way.

The second one was of the "concerned costumes citizens" who had rushed in to help hold the car up while Elisa and Matt went to work dragging the victims to safety. Goliath, the only obvious gargoyle was conveniently missing from the shot.

"What's more believable?" DA Magot Yale argued on Nightwatch that night. "That the car was magically lifted, or that the first photo was a fake?"

Elisa hated to admit the Ms Yale had done them a favor, but she had.

As For Elisa, it was "No Comment".

Luckily, the person who took the original picture, now that doubt were being cast on the authenticity, had decided to not come forward.

Or maybe it wasn't luck, since Elisa had it on good authority that Xanatos was in possession of the original photo AND the negatives. Elisa hoped that the photographer charged him out the nose, and remained silent.

The new images were also the product of Xanatos. He had a damned good graphics art team, that's for sure. Even having been there herself, she would have been hard pressed to call the new pictures fake.

After two weeks had passed, the press found something else to occupy them.

Tonight, after their patrols, she and Goliath were going to celebrate by taking Liam to the park.

Brooklyn and Skyler, once again inseparable, had plans of their own, and the rest of the clan would be off on their own for a celebratory night of relaxation now that the excitement had died down.

Once more, life had settled into their new normal, and Elisa was grateful.


End file.
